ESE, DDM, OFH, or Grey? (WAS: DDM!Snape the definition)

[Jen Reese]

No: HPFGUIDX 162633

Zgirnius:
> If Snape makes his choice on the Tower because he sees it as the
> only way he can save Harry and continue his spying mission, he's
> not Grey in my eyes, he's DDM.

Carol:
> Acutally, I think you *do* believe in DDM!Snape, who *chooses* to do
> Dumbledore's will rather than being bound to do it by, say, a Life
> Debt or a last-minute order that he must obey. That's exactly what I
> think, as well. The only difference between your view and that of
> other DDM!Snapers that I can see is that you think that "Severus,
> please" means "please save Harry," not "please kill me" or "please
> carry out our plan." <snip> We both think that the element of 
> choice is involved. Dumbledore's *Man* doesn't mean Dumbledore's 
> *Slave." Just look at Harry, "Dumbledore's man through and
> through," who nevertheless doesn't realize that snape is 
> Dumbledore's man, too.

Jen: The reason I continue to stubbornly carve out a place for Grey 
Snape even though it looks like splitting hairs is because DDM has 
become this huge umbrella that covers every explanation of Snape 
unless it's in direct opposition such as the Life Debt or Evil!
Snape.  But JKR takes great pains to make distinctions in her 
characters and their choices because she appears to be saying that 
the reason *why* characters choose a particular action is as 
important as the action itself, that how they get to a certain point 
matters for Who They Are. 

For me, Harry will always be the gold standard for Dumbledore's man 
through and through and Snape is not Harry.  The point of Grey is to 
say that Snape and Harry are not the same on the inside with 
different skins, they are not opposite but equal.  Harry would never, 
ever find himself in the position of having to kill Dumbledore and 
the fact that Snape did **matters**.  Not proving to be evil or out-
for-himself is a long way from Snape earning the title of 
Dumbledore's Man in my book. 

Zgirnius:
> The tactical situation on the Tower was materially different 
> because of the Unbreakable Vow, for which I believe Snape would
> blame on himelf. He has blood on his hands, no question.

Jen: The UV led diretly to what happened on the tower and therefore 
the reason Snape took the Vow matters greatly.  I just looked at the 
list again while writing this and saw Pippin's post about Blown!Snape 
which I will read with great interest because I haven't come up with 
a satisfactory answer for the UV myself.

Carol:
> But, on the tower, he hesitates to kill Dumbledore, to become a 
> murderer for the cause (till now, he's always "slithered out of 
> action" involving Unforgiveable Curses, IMO), to make his name 
> anathema in the WW (hardly anyone even knew that he was a Death
> Eater).  Killing Dumbledore costs him everything he had: freedom,
> employment, respect, the trust of the Order. <snip> But, for
> Dumbledore and for Draco and for the Chosen One he loathes and for
> the WW, Snape does what he has to do. 

Jen: Killing Dumbledore cost him everything because he made it so. 
Choosing to save Harry and Draco and get the DE's out of Hogwarts 
could have even been Snape's way of making up for his huge blunder 
taking the UV and having to kill Dumbledore in the first place.  I've 
mentioned the Lightning Struck Tarot card before and two people 
falling from the tower, one representing the literal fall of 
Dumbledore and other Snape's fall from grace.  I used to feel some 
sympathy for Snape's fall but not anymore.   His 'worst' came out in 
HBP and led to his own downfall just like it did when he handed over 
the prophecy to Voldemort.